An officer patrolling the Desplaines CTA Blue Line stop about 11:27 a.m. spotted two men passing a rolled cigar to each other on Feb. 23, according to a police report. The officer suspected it was cannabis, approached the car, and made eye contact with the two men, who immediately got out of the vehicle. One tried to hide the cigar, the other fiddled with a jacket pocket and both told police they had been smoking weed and apologized. Officers then requested identification, and found out one man was currently on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Police searched the man and uncovered a large zip-lock bag containing multiple smaller baggies, all stocked with a white powdery substance. After officers uncovered the suspected narcotics, the suspect fled on foot from police. An officer was able to briefly catch the man, but the offender broke free, causing injury to the officer’s right shoulder, arm and left knee. Another officer lunged at the man, but fell to the ground, striking the side of his head, shoulder and elbow. Both policemen were transferred to Loyola University Medical Center for treatment. The offender continued to flee to the north side of the train terminal, throwing his green jacket to the ground. Police finally caught the man on the upper parking deck of the train station.

His jacket was recovered and inside was a knotted plastic bag holding 14 bags of suspected narcotics. Another search of the man uncovered three more bags of suspected narcotics. Transferred to the police station, the man said that even though he was smoking marijuana, police had no reason to “pull him over.” He told police he had two “stacks” of heroin on him. Police charged him with a misdemeanor of resisting a police officer. The Illinois Department of Corrections declined to issue the man a parole violation.

While in custody, the man told police: “I should have knocked your [expletive] out,” “Just wait till I get out, I’ll come shoot your [expletive],” “You don’t know what I’m going to do to you” and more. 

Car alarm alerts

A man was getting ready for work when he heard his car alarm going off about 6:29 a.m. on Feb. 20, according to a police report. The man exited his home on the 100 block of Desplaines Avenue and discovered that someone had broken the left rear passenger window of his Chevrolet Avalanche. Offenders rummaged through his vehicle; the victim is unsure if they took anything.

Car stolen at Walmart

Someone stole a woman’s car as she shopped at Walmart on Feb. 20. A woman parked her car at 1300 Desplaines Ave. and shopped for about 30 minutes, according to a police report. When she exited the store about 12:56 p.m., her Ford Focus was missing. She told police all her doors were locked and she was in possession of her keys.

Motorist beaten

Two men beat up another driver and shattered his car window, after they ran a stop sign about 3 a.m. at Circle Avenue and Harvard Street on Feb. 25, according to a police report. After a driver stopped his Infiniti at the stop sign at the intersection, a dark-colored vehicle swerved around his car, failing to stop at the stop sign, and travelled south and stopped in front of 1035 Circle Avenue. As the victim passed the vehicle, he asked the driver of the dark car if he was all right. The driver and passenger then exited their vehicle, and began punching the driver of the Infiniti and his car. One of them shattered the rear window of the Infiniti with a bottle. The victim then fled southbound on Circle Avenue. When he talked to police, they said he had a swollen lip.

 

Sax stolen from church

Between 3 p.m. on Feb. 18 and 9 a.m. on Feb. 25, a saxophone was stolen from Living Word Christian Center, 7600 Roosevelt Road, according to a police report. The owner performs a few times a week at Living Word and stores his saxophone there when he’s not playing. A fellow musician told him he didn’t see the saxophone there on Feb. 21.

The man estimated the saxophone was worth $4,000 and, inside the case, he said there were numerous metal mouth pieces, ear buds and other equipment worth an additional $1,500 in value. Living Word officials are reviewing security footage.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Feb.19-26, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.

Compiled by Nona Tepper